brita britain's duke and duchess of europe. cbs news reporter is in ottawa this morning, lucie van oldenbarneveld has more. >> reporter: thousands of very excited onlookers greeted the duke and duchess of cambridge and waiting hours to do so them and they sure didn't disappoint. prince william and catherine stepped off a canadian military plane early in the afternoon on thursday into brilliant sunshine and brisk winds an adoring crowd. >> oh, my heart stopped a beat! i was so excited! i was jumping and screaming! love them. >> reporter: after meeting prime minister stephen harper, their first stop was a national war memorial to lay a wreath and visit the troops. then a speech in french. william apologized for his language skills and promised he would get better. >> it will improve as we go on. >> reporter: a scheduled barbecue with 120 canadian volunteers were moved indoor because of the rain. there, the couple mingled with the crowd. kate who is not scheduled to speak publicly during the trip seemed to have plenty to say in pr